University

09/15/2009

Saybrook trustee now blogging for Psychology Today

There are a lot of things Alison Shapiro never thought she’d be, starting with “stroke survivor.”

But after she had two strokes in 24 hours, she found she had the tools to recover fully – and that changed her life. Since then she’s become many other things she’d never expected: an author, a leader in the movement to help others understand their own power to heal, and now a blogger for Psychology Today.

The name of her blog, “Healing into Possibility” is also the name of her book, and Alison – who is the chair of Saybrook’s Board of Trustees – was offered the blog after a Psychology Today editor received a copy of the work. It chronicles the lessons Alison learned about the power of intention to transform a life in crisis.

By being present, by focusing on the current moment, by being engaged in your struggles rather than going on auto-pilot, we are capable of tremendous acts of healing and recovery. Her book covers just how the process can work – and her blog will expand that idea in new ways.

Her first blog post is on how we define ourselves by external factors she calls “what’s” – what kind of car you drive, what kind of family you have, what kind of food we eat. All things that seem permanent … until they suddenly change. Focusing on “what’s” always locks you into the past, and never lets you be in the present. Focusing on process, instead, is what enables and empowers healing.

Future topics will include: formative psychology, the transformational power of attitude, creativity and healing, loving kindness, living around limitations, letting life in, applying what you know, and paying attention.

“I never seriously thought I would be a blogger, but now I realize that it's a lot like writing a column and quite powerful and fun,” Alison says. “I also get to indulge the illustrator part of me from time to time because I can make images to include as I did with my first post.”